Carolyn M. Pride 
To earn blue ribbon bragging rights, you must enter this year’s State Fair of Virginia pageants.
Contest guides with entry deadlines, entry instructions and category descriptions for Culinary and Creative Arts and Horticulture are online at StateFairVa.org. The 2022 State Fair of Virginia will be held from September 23 to October 2.
Each year, hundreds of Virginians enter the contests and their entries are displayed during the fair. Some categories offer winners small cash prizes in addition to bragging ribbons. But it’s the blue ribbons that many competitors are most concerned about.
The State Fair’s arts and crafts, cooking and horticulture competitions are for everyone – artists, bakers, artisans, gardeners, plant experts, row crop farmers and more. There are categories for adults and youth.
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“Some people think you have to win at a county fair before you can compete at the state fair, but that’s a misnomer,” said Sarah Jane Thomsen, agricultural education and programming partnerships manager. strategy of the fair. “Anyone can enter the craft, cooking and horticulture competitions if they meet the criteria.”
And contest participants contribute to the fair’s mission to educate the public about agriculture and make connections to where visitors’ food is grown.
“A lot of people aren’t exposed to crops and plants like those on display in the horticulture tent,” said Lynwood Broaddus, a Carolina County farmer and frequent horticulture competitor. “But people are really interested in where their food comes from, and if they can see the products in person, it helps them make a connection.”
On Spring Hill Farms in Broaddus, he, his son and his brother grow wheat, rye and barley. In recent years, they have presented samples of these crops at horticultural competitions. He and his wife, Becky, also go into the plants and vegetables in their garden.
Over the past five years, the Broadduses have received more than 100 ribbons, including a third blue.
The State Fair is held each fall at its permanent home at Meadow Event Park in Caroline County. The event celebrates the best of Virginia’s past, present, and future through scholarship initiatives, creative programming, and a focus on the agriculture and forestry industries. Commonwealth natural resources.
